DEVILDRIVER's DEZ FAFARA Says New Drummer AUSTIN D'AMOND Is 'More Than Capable' Of Replacing JOHN BOECKLIN

DEVILDRIVER — the California-based band fronted by COAL CHAMBER singer Dez Fafara — will enter the studio later this year to record its new album for a 2016 release. The CD will mark DEVILDRIVER‘s first studio effort since the departures of drummer John Boecklin and guitarist Jeff Kendrick and addition of former CHIMAIRA drummer Austin D’Amond.

Asked what makes Austin the right drummer for DEVILDRIVER, Dez told Full Metal Jackie: “What made him the right guy is he’s more than capable.

“You can understand when members leave a band, and Jeff, the guitar player, left ’cause he just didn’t wanna tour anymore, and I totally understood that after the schedule we kept for almost 13 years. And John wanted to try and do some stuff on his own, and it was more than okay with me after that length of time. So, when you do replace members, what you wanna do is you wanna get people who are more than capable — or more capable than even who you had [before].”

He continued: “I definitely am looking forward to playing with Austin. He’s a great guy, he’s a great drummer, [and] he’s got an incredible stage presence. And when he came in for the audition, he absolutely just smoked it. He’s just an incredible guy. And you get a real good vibe from him, which is another thing. We’re gonna tour a lot, so you’re gonna have to have that. The guitar player is also… We’ve also got a new guitar player, but we’re gonna wait on the announcement for that. But it’s nice.

“I just got back yesterday from Los Angeles, from Mike‘s [Spreitzer, guitar] house, meeting with the whole band now. And it’s looking like it’s on track to record mid this year.”

Boecklin and Kendrick exited DEVILDRIVER in October. They played their last show with the band as part of last year’s Knotfest in Devore, California.

DEVILDRIVER‘s latest album, “Winter Kills”, sold around 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 32 on The Billboard 200 chart.
This news tip was found at Blabbermouth.net.